That Girl with the Orange Hair
by Ginger the Espeon
Summary: Topaz just wanted to become a Pokemon Trainer, then hopefully a Pokemon Ranger. She didn't ask for Team Plasma to constantly ruin her day. Nor did she ask Reshiram to give her the ability to speak to Pokemon. And she most certainly didn't ask N to take an interest in her. But such is life, I suppose.


Nuvema Town was a quiet town in the south-eastern part of the Unova Region. It was one of those small, everyone-knew-each-other towns that was relatively uneventful. In fact, there were only about 15 houses in the entire place, so maybe it couldn't really be called a town... And other than those few houses, Professor Juniper's lab was the only other building in the village.

While there weren't many people in the district, it was still a homey place that would be ideal for vacationing if there were more buildings to reside in. Today in particular was a very special day for one of the residents of the village. Her name's Topaz and she's been waiting forever and a half for this day to finally arrive. You see, a year ago, her three best friends- Cheren, Bianca, and Touya- began their Pokemon journey while she had to stay home. After all, in the Unova region you had to be fourteen before getting your official Trainer ID card.

"Don't worry about me," she had told them. "Just be sure to write back and have fun for me!" After that, days seemed to crawl by. Without her friends around, the town grew dull. Nothing new ever seemed to happen and lazing around was boring after doing it for so many days in a row. Even her brother's pranks faded into the background after a while

But today was finally the day she'd be turning fourteen and would leave to become a Pokemon trainer!

* * *

"Alright, Rain! Use Razor Shell!" Topaz screams excitedly to her Oshawott. He charges towards the Patrat, scalchop in paw. It scurries away from the attack before standing on its hind paws, facing Rain. It glares at him, and he flinches back. It lowered his defense by using Leer! "Don't let that slow you down! Use Water Gun!" Rain releases a powerful spray of water from his mouth, pushing back the Patrat. It shakes itself off with little effort and sprints forward, Tackling Rain.

Before he can get up, the Patrat's stripes begin glowing. It becomes brighter and brighter, to the point where she has to cover her eyes with her hands. When she pulls them away, everything's disappeared and faded to black.

"H-Hey, what's going on here?!" she scream into the crushing darkness.

" _Hello? Hello, can you hear me?"_ a voice responds to her, panicked and anxious.

"Who are you?" she asks nervously.

" _There's no time to explain. I come bearing a gift and a warning,_ " the voice answers. It sounds like it's getting farther away.

 _Beep beep..._

"Wait, you're not making sense! A warning about what?" she shouts, dread crawling up her spine.

" _There is trouble ahead for you. Truth and Ideals will clash in your near future._ " The voice is a faint whisper now. " _You will be in the center of this turmoil and you must be willing to fight."_

 _Beep beep..._

"But why? What do I have to do? Please explain- I'm so confused."

" _I can't; you're waking up and my powers are fading. This will be the last time we'll communicate before our proper meeting. Be brave, my hero!_ " the voice suddenly roars, right above her head, and she's engulfed in bright orange flames.

 _Beep beep beep beep..._

Her eyelids flick wide open and immediately smush together again when my eyeballs are assaulted by the sunlight filtering through my window. I groan in annoyance and begin my quest to find the dreadful beast known as an alarm clock. Stupid thing always ruins my dreams! I finally find it after searching for a few minutes, up on the highest shelf in my closet, standing proudly on old board games.

Must've been been her brother, Andesine, since she'd never spite my future self like that. He has a habit of hiding it. Unfortunately, he does so in a way that's easy to find but impossible to reach without dragging a kitchen chair upstairs. She attempts to get it down, but she's too short to do so. She decides to leave it be for now and just wait for her brother to get it down.

Meanwhile, she gets ready for her meeting with Professor Juniper. She prepares quickly, getting showered, brushing her teeth, et cetera. Topaz pauses to look in the mirror to tie her hair up. She looks over her mock Pokemon Ranger uniform for her journey- a white tank top, black shorts, and her father's Pokemon Ranger jacket- and decides that it's suitable for her journey. She'd be showing everyone that she's going to be the next Top Ranger!

"Knock, knock! Can I come in?" her brother Andy says, already walking into her room. "Nelly is making breakfast downstairs, so hurry up already!"

"Only if you get that dumb clock to shut up."

"What, couldn't get it yourself, shorty?" Topaz grabs her pillow and smacks him repeatedly with it. Despite his efforts to get away, Andy trips and is at the mercy of his younger sister. "Ow, Tazzy, stop! Stop! Fine, I'll help you!" The smacks and beeping ends soon after his cry of defeat.

"I am victorious! Kneel, peasant." Instead, her brother puts her in a headlock gives her a noogie.

"No way, loser. I'm getting revenge!"

"Are you two coming or not," the eldest sibling, Spinel, calls up the stairs. "Breakfast is ready. I made pancakes." Topaz squirms her way out of Andy's arms and rushes down into the kitchen.

"Nelly, you're the best! Thank you!" She plops an overly affectionate kiss on her sister's cheek, despite her protests. She promptly wipes it off with a disgusted noise.

"Gross, Topaz!" The orange haired girl simply plops down in her usual seat with a laugh. Her older siblings follow suit, leaving only one chair empty. There's a beat of silence.

"Mom couldn't make it home in time, huh?" Topaz sighs, disappointed.

"You know she's busy over in Johto. She'll be visiting next week, though!" Andy replies. Their mother is an archaeologist who's currently busy excavating the Ruins of Alph. She's been gone for many months now, with a few sporadic visits sprinkled in.

"I'll be long gone by then!" she nearly shouts.

"Topaz, calm down. You'll be able to call home from any Pokemon Center, so it's not going to be the end of the world." Topaz mumbles out an "I know" and the conversation turns back to playful banter.

* * *

Topaz arrives at Professor Juniper's and knocks loudly to announce that she's here. The professor always told everyone in town to knock then walk in if you needed something. The woman is sound asleep at her desk, a small pile of Pokeballs by her head threatening to topple with each of her snores.

Books and papers littered the floor around her. A cold cup of coffee rests in her right hand, while her left arm is being used as a pillow. It must've been a rough night for her, but why? Topaz walks over to her, careful not to step on her things, and shakes her shoulder.

"Professor? It's Tazzy. Are you okay?" Professor Juniper jolts up with an undignified squeak. She looks around wildly before resting her eyes on her visitor. There are defined bags under her eyes and her hair is falling out of her usual bun. She fell asleep in her work clothes, too. Something's wrong.

"Tazzy? What are you doing here?" she asks with a yawn.

"I was supposed to receive a Pokemon today… If you're busy I can come back later." she replies, jabbing her thumb at the door. Juniper grimaces, apparently remembering something bad.

"Tazzy, I don't think you'll be able to get a starter anytime soon…"

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" She sighs, rubbing her eyes tiredly. How much sleep did she get last night? "The UBC was raided last night. The criminals stole almost everything! The only Pokemon that escaped are here on my desk, and in a few Pokemon Centers scattered around Unova." Topaz's heart sinks like a rock. UBC stands for Unova Breeding Center, and it's where certain species of Pokemon are bred to be easier for new trainers to handle and train. There's also a lot of valuable research done there, too. Every region has one or something similar..

Who would've done such an awful thing. Topaz's first thought is to accuse the famous Team Rocket, but they've been defeated twice already. Coming back a third time would be pointless. So who could it be…?

"I'd give you one of these guys, but they're too young," Juniper says. "I'm sorry Tazzy, but unless this is resolved soon I don't think you'll be able to become a trainer this year. I'll try to pull some strings with my professor friends, but I can't promise anything. They have their own new trainers to give Pokemon to." I can't help but be disappointed. I've been waiting all my life for this moment, and it was snatched away so quickly. Before I could even start my journey.

"I'll help you clean up, then I'll go home, Professor." Topaz says, bending over to pick up an encyclopedia to hide her misty eyes and trembling lip. She straightens up and hands over the book.

"Thank you for the offer, but you should go home now. I'm so sorry about all this; it's not fair to you. I know how excited you were about today." She smiles sadly and gives her a tight hug.

"It's not your fault."


End file.
